


Dangan Genesis Ronpangelion

by Xalts



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Crossover, I know what I'm doing, Naegami in later chapters, Other, Spoilers for both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Super Dangan Ronpa 2, THIS IS ON SEMI-PERMANENT HIATUS, more characters will be added as they appear - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-11-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 23:44:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2486678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xalts/pseuds/Xalts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 2015, fifteen years after a global cataclysm known as the Second Impact, teenager Hajime Hinata is summoned to the futuristic city of Tokyo-3 by Jin Kirigiri, the director of the special paramilitary force NERV. Hinata witnesses the NERV forces battling an Angel: one of a race of giant monstrous beings whose awakening was foretold by the Dead Sea Scrolls. NERV's giant Evangelion bio-machines, synchronized to the nervous systems of their pilots, are the only weapons capable of keeping the Angels from annihilating humanity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Angel Attack!

Hinata blinked in the hazy mid-afternoon light, sure that for a second he had seen a person standing on the street below him, but the flutter of wingbeats on the wind had drawn his focus away, and now that he looked again, there was no one there. The caterwauling of a siren in the distance and the drone of planes overhead was nothing more than background noise until an explosion shook the ground. Stumbling, Hinata turned to seek the source, and then there it was; a great black beast, grey pinstripes running the length of its body the same colour as the oversized shoulder-carapaces that widened its already-formidable figure. It raised one long, slender arm and, with a noise like metal on metal, shot a spike out of its palm that skewered one of the many JSSDF aircraft circling it, shattering the plane in an instant and triggering another explosion.

Hinata could only stare up in terror and confusion. The creature had to be at least fifty feet tall, and where its feet struck the ground it left craters bigger than a car. _And it was coming this way_. Hinata dithered for a moment, not sure which way to run, just as one of the aircraft was knocked out of the sky with one sweep of the creature's arm, landing not twenty feet from where Hinata was stood and exploding as the beast's foot came down on top of it. Crying out, he threw up his arms to protect himself from the blast, but it wasn't until the noise and tremors had stopped that he opened his eyes and realised he had no need to, for a blue car had pulled up between himself and the creature, shielding him from the explosion. One door was flung open haphazardly.

"Hinata-kun, right?" said a cheery male voice from inside the car. "Or can I call you Hajime-kun? Either way, we should get moving!"

It wasn't until they were making decent distance from the battlefield that the person spoke again. "Since you're here, I guess you got my letter. I'm Makoto Naegi, I'm here in Commander Kirigiri's place to collect you. You are Hajime Hinata, right?"

"Right," Hinata agreed, though he wondered what Naegi would have done if he had turned out to be someone else. Would he have been cast back into the street to deal with-- "By the way, what was that thing?"

"An Angel," Naegi answered.

"Angel?"

"It's what we've called it, but it's more like a monster... The JSSDF are fighting it presently, and I think... Oh, yes! Here he is!" Naegi tilted his chin to direct Hinata's gaze, rather than removing his hands from the steering wheel. Hinata looked in the direction he'd indicated, and almost jumped in shock.

"Another one--?!" A great orange creature, the same size as the black one, had appeared from behind a hill, but this one seemed sleeker, smoother, with segmented parts almost like a robot. Its head had a single lens-like eye in the center, and it was carrying a rifle the size of which Hinata had never before imagined.

"Do you know about NERV's work, Hajime-kun?" Naegi said. "That thing there is called an Evangelion. It was created by man to fight the Angels. Isn't it impressive?"

The Evangelion had taken up a firing stance, and began unloading the rifle in the Angel's direction. Before any single bullet could make contact, a shimmering hexagon seemed to appear in mid-air before the Angel, shielding it from harm.

"Is that... a force field?" Hinata said, squinting to get a closer look. Naegi frowned and immediately pulled the car over with a screech, reaching into the compartment on the inside of his door to grab a pair of binoculars, which he lifted to his face.

"That... I guess that's what an AT-field looks like..."

"AT-field?" Hinata repeated in a questioning tone.

"It's a shield of sorts... The Eva has one too," Naegi replied, and then said in a more hushed tone, more to himself than to Hinata, "C'mon, Izuru-kun..."

The Eva threw aside the rifle, which crashed to the ground with a resounding boom, and hunched into a pose like it was preparing to wrestle. The Angel turned to it, not even looking as it skewered another aircraft on the spears that shot from its hands, and for the first time, Hinata saw its face. There was a mask like a bird skull in the center of a cluster of bones, under which a formation like a ribcage protected a glowing red orb, but the mask had been pushed aside by missile damage, puckering the skin around its edge and revealing the true face of the Angel beneath it. One eye was damaged with a vertical scar through it, but the other was glowing the same red as its core, and Hinata felt a chill as he recognised the cold intelligence behind that stare. After a few seconds of stand-off, the Eva began to move, charging at the Angel at a speed Hinata wouldn't have thought possible of such a large figure.

"Wait," Naegi said, following the Eva's movements with his binoculars. "The shoulder pylons aren't connected - he doesn't have a prog-knife! Where's my phone--"

Before Naegi could even reach for his phone, Eva and Angel met in a grapple, the Eva's hands tightening around the Angel's forearms, but the Angel was stronger. It lifted the Eva clean off the ground, smashing it to the floor with a crack like lightning, and then placed its hand over the Eva's headpiece, and Hinata heard the same metal on metal sound that accompanied the Angel's spears. Naegi grabbed for his phone, dialling at speed and almost yelling down the line, the binoculars still clutched to his face.

"It's me! Retrieve Eva-00 immediately! -- No, that's an order! Izuru-kun can't win this battle-- ... If that's what it takes, then do it!" As he hung up, Naegi threw both binoculars and phone onto the back seat of the car, grabbed Hinata by the head and forced him into a hunched position on the car seat. "Get down!"

Hinata tilted his head just enough that he could see what was happening; there was a twisting of metal and a screeching noise as the Evangelion disappeared from view, as if the ground beneath it had fallen away, and almost immediately a single aircraft darted across the sky, dropping something cylindrical on top of the Angel. It was caught by its AT-field, but the explosion that occurred as a result was so bright and loud that Hinata was blinded and deafened temporarily. The car was thrown across the ground by the shockwaves, sending him crashing against the sides and top of the interior. When the noise finally ceased, Hinata blinked away the remaining lights that had burned into his retinas.

"That was an N2 mine," Naegi said quietly, cutting into the silence. "Hopefully it did enough damage to immobilise it for now... But we need to get to HQ as soon as possible."

They worked together to turn the car off its side, and then drove on in silence. As they entered the tunnel that led to the car elevator, Hinata turned to Naegi.

"That thing... The Evangelion. You said 'Izuru-kun' while it was fighting..."

"Ah, right," Naegi said. "Izuru-kun... That's Izuru Kamukura. He's the pilot of Eva-00. I wasn't sure about letting him pilot today, since-- Oh, I should tell you this later. First off, did you recieve the ID card I sent?"

Hinata nodded, reaching into his bag to extract the crumpled piece of paper, and handed it to Naegi. Naegi read over it once and then smiled.

"That's good enough for me. Okay, there's a lot to know about NERV, and most of it is in this handbook-" He gave Hinata a hardback folder with the NERV logo printed on the front, as well as the message 'For your eyes only'. "- But it might be easier if you just ask questions. I'm sure you've got a lot."

"Yeah... You could say that again," Hinata replied, furrowing his brow. "What exactly was that... 'Angel'? And the Evangelion, what was that?"

"As I said, the Angel was a monster... We don't know why it's here or how it exists, but we have to stop it. That's why we created the Evangelion... Ah, Kirigiri-san can explain it in better detail than me when we get to HQ." Naegi smiled apologetically. "She's far more involved in the technical side of things... I'm in charge of battle plans and strategy, you know? Technically, my title is Captain."

Hinata nodded a little, his mouth falling open slightly at the idea that Naegi, who appeared so gentle and kindhearted, could possibly be a captain in charge of anything war-like. Before he could voice his thoughts, though, the elevator shaft opened up to a bare rail, and beneath them, an incredible expanse of land opened up. It was gently lit from above, where the bottom halves of buildings hung like stalectites, and below, in the center of the vast forests and lakes, was a great pyramid-like building.

"This-- This is a Geo-front, right?" Hinata said, pressing his face against the window to get a closer look.

"That's right. This is NERV HQ, the last stronghold of mankind."

The elevator eventually landed, and Naegi led Hinata inside the building and through a maze of catwalks and escalators that left Hinata feeling completely lost. Naegi was hiding his confusion better, though he was still struggling to find his way, until they called for an elevator at the end of a corridor and it slid open to reveal the cool expression of a lilac-haired young woman.

"K-kirigiri-san!" Naegi exclaimed, blushing slightly. "We were just coming to see you--!"

"I know, Naegi-kun," Kirigiri said, stepping aside to let them into the elevator. She cast an unreadable glance across Hinata. "So this is the third... It's a little late, but at least he's here now."Hinata swallowed awkwardly. He was used to being talked about as though he wasn't also in the room, but Kirigiri's stare was so piercing that he could almost feel himself sweating.

Naegi laughed awkwardly before adopting a more serious face."How's Izuru-kun? And the damage to Eva-00..."

"Negligible. Kamukura-kun is in recovery. Matsuda-kun is watching over him. Yamada-kun estimated roughly 13 minutes before the damage to the Angel is regenerated. We'll head to the Cage now." Kirigiri's voice was almost monotone, and professionally composed. The remainder of the elevator ride was in silence. When they reached the right floor, Kirigiri led them through a set of sliding doors into a darkened room, which became pitch black once the doors slid shut.

"W-wait," Hinata said quietly. "I can't see anything, where am I meant to--" The lights flared on, and it took all his self-control for Hinata to not call out.

There was a gigantic purple and green face staring down at him.

"This is the Humanoid Fighting Machine 'Evangelion' that humanity has created," Kirigiri's clear voice rang out across the Cage. "It is our only hope against the Angels." Hinata's voice died in his throat as he choked out sounds, trying to comprehend what was in front of him. Naegi put a hand on his shoulder.

"You saw Eva-00, didn't you? This is Eva-01. It's just like the one you saw."

"That is correct." Another light came on, this one above the Eva's head, and Hinata looked up to see a man, whose features were strikingly similar to Kirigiri's, with deep purple hair and the same cold glare. "This is Evangelion Unit-01. You, Hajime Hinata, will pilot it against the third Angel."

Hinata finally found his voice. "W-what...? You want me to... pilot this thing?"

"Correct."

"I can't do that," was his immediate response, and then his voice became stronger as he tried to justify himself. "I mean, that Eva before... It couldn't fight the Angel. And I don't know anything about this... How can you expect me to pilot it...?"

"That's right," Naegi chimed in. "Hajime-kun only just arrived. It took Izuru-kun seven months to synchronise with Eva-00! How can you expect him to pilot Eva-01?!"

"All he has to do is sit in it," Kirigiri said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "If there's a chance he can synchronise with it, that's chance enough."

Naegi spluttered. "B-but he hasn't had any training, he doesn't even have a plug suit yet--"

"Hajime Hinata." The man in the box above the Cage spoke again. "You came here on the agreement that you would become a member of NERV, is that not correct? Your name was chosen by the Marduk Report. You were aware of this. Is that not why you came?"

Hinata gaped helplessly. "Y-yeah, but this is..."

"So, you will pilot Eva-01. That is what you came here to do."

"No..." Hinata shook his head. "That's not... I mean, I can't... How can you expect me to...?"

"If you won't do it, then there is no place for you here. Naegi. Take Hinata home." The man turned away from the window and towards the monitors that adorned the wall beside him. Though most of them displayed Hinata's distressed face, one was that of a black-haired man with a sullen expression. "Matsuda. The back-up is useless. Recalibrate Eva-01 for Izuru."

"Can we use him?" Matsuda asked, though his tone of voice was more bored than concerned.

"He's not dead yet." The man switched the monitor to another feed, this without visuals. "Izuru."

"Yes."

"You must pilot again."

"Yes."

There was a huge crash that vibrated through the entire building. Down on the catwalk, Kirigiri looked up at the ceiling.

"It's regenerating... The Angel is recommencing its attack," she said, a tremor of fear entering her voice. Naegi looked helplessly from her to Hinata, who was staring at the ground, his shoulders trembling. Even though he'd wanted so badly to become a part of NERV, to become a part of the organisation that was going to save the world... In the end, he was useless. He couldn't do what was asked of him, and now he was going to be sent back... Hinata felt absolutely worthless.

The sliding doors at the end of the catwalk slid open, and a team of doctors rushed in, pushing between them a hospital bed upon which lay a white-suited boy with long black hair. The sleeves of his suit were missing to make room for thick bandages that padded his arms, and another bandage covered his left eye, though the right, a deep red, was uncovered enough for him to glare at Hinata as he was pushed past. An IV line was removed and one of the doctors helped him sit up on the guerny, supporting him as he winced in pain. Hinata was frozen in place, staring at this pitiful person - for they looked exactly like the person he was sure he had seen in the midday haze before the Angel had attacked.

Another crash from overhead shook the catwalk so hard that Hinata nearly fell over, and the boy on the bed really did fall, landing heavily on the ground, unable to stop himself with his injured arms. Without even thinking, Hinata ran to him, to help him up, but the low groan of pain that the boy made at even the slightest contact made Hinata hesitate. He looked down at his hand, where it had made contact with the side of the boy's suit, and saw red. His breath caught in his throat. A third crash thundered from above, and the force of it loosened the lights hanging above the catwalk, sending them plummetting downwards. Hinata lifted a hand to cover his head, as if that would help against the weight of falling metal, and saw a great movement of purple and green surge up from below. There was a clunk of contact, and the lights bounced, spiralling down into the liquid that filled the lower half of the cage.

Hinata looked up at what had stopped them, and couldn't prevent the cry that escaped his throat. The Evangelion's gloved hand had lifted over his head, to protect him. Its fingers were thicker around than his entire body. Even though it was stationary now, Hinata had terrible visions of that hand grabbing hold of him and squeezing the life out of him.

"Impossible..." Kirigiri's voice drifted from across the catwalk. She had fallen during the crash, and was now staring up at the Eva's hand. "There isn't even an entry plug... It shouldn't be able to move...!"

"Did it move... to save Hajime-kun?" Naegi asked, also on the floor.

Hinata stared up at the hand, and then looked at his own hand, covered in someone else's blood, and at the boy in his arms, who was looking at him with a mixed expression of curiosity, condescencion and pain. He knew what he had to do. Even as his voice shook, even as he furiously blinked away tears that were threatening to form in the corners of his eyes, he knew what he had to do.

"I'll pilot it. I'll pilot the Evangelion."

What happened from there was a blur. Hinata was taken to a higher level on the catwalk and shown how to get into the entry plug, given an interface headset to wear and shown roughly what controls to press. The black-haired boy was taken away at some point, but Hinata didn't get to see him clearly before he was already gone, and Naegi and Kirigiri disappeared too, saying they would be able to contact him from the Command centre. The inside of the entry plug felt cold and indifferent, and Hinata shivered slightly at the lower temperature. There were voices above him, brisk and professional, talking about bindings and docking and all sorts of terms he didn't understand the context of. A few seconds later, there was some kind of movement around him; the seat he was in seemed to move lower into the tube, while the tube itself spun around, and then he heard Naegi's voice across the intercom.

"Hajime-kun, we're going to add the LCL. Don't freak out, okay?"

"What--?" Hinata's question died on his lips as an orange-red liquid began to rise from the bottom of the entry plug. "Wait, what's this?! What's going on?!" He tried to hold his head above the water line, but it quickly surpassed him, leaving him with nothing but the air in his lungs, and that was already running out.

"Don't hold your breath," Kirigiri's voice joined Naegi's. "Once the LCL is in your lungs, it'll deliver oxygen directly to them. It'll feel unusual at first, but you'll get used to it."

Despite his adamant struggles to definitely not breathe in the strange liquid, Hinata's will finally gave way and he felt the rush of water in his lungs that threatened to send him into a coughing fit, if not for the fact that he could actually breathe better because of it. More voices became part of the cascade of announcements that meant so very little to Hinata - 'Commencing second contact', 'A10-nerve connection is operational', 'Connect the mutual lines' - and then there was light, flashing past Hinata's eyes as the walls of the entry plug became colour, and then static, then lines, then a veritable rainbow before it settled on a view of the Cage, and Hinata realised he was seeing through the eyes of Eva.

"The synchronisation rate is 41.1037%. To get these numbers on a first synchronisation... Incredible," Kirigiri said in an awed tone.

"All harmonics are normal," came a voice Hinata didn't recognise, though it was distinctly female. "Everything is under control."

"Prepare to launch," said Naegi. There was more movement outside of the plug, though Hinata could now watch as the Eva's bindings were removed, and something clunked into place behind him, and then the entire thing was moved backwards, lifting into place against a set of rails that extended above him. With a series of clatters, uncountable hatches opened in the ceiling, clearing a pathway.

"Eva-01 is on the launch pad. Course is clear, all green," said the unfamiliar female voice again. It's owner, a blue-haired girl with a carefree expression, turned on her chair in the Command centre to face Kirigiri, who nodded in assent. "We're ready to launch."

"Okay... Is this okay, then?" Naegi said, turning behind him to receive confirmation. At the top of the Command tower, behind his desk, sat the purple-haired man who was known by all at NERV as Commander Kirigiri. Beside his desk lounged the black-haired Matsuda, who was watching the holoscreens with a lazy demeanour.

"Of course it is," the Commander said, leaning back in his chair. "Unless we defeat this Angel, there is no hope for the future."

"Ah..." Matsuda sighed. "But are you really satisfied with that, Jin?"

Naegi turned to the screens again and, nodding at Kirigiri, cleared his throat. "Evangelion Unit-01, launch!"

Hinata heard the grinding of the guide rails more than he felt them, though there were strange vibrations running up his spine that he couldn't quite place a cause to. He was being thrust at high speed through the narrow tunnels of NERV HQ, the g-forces enough to make his eyes water. It was almost a relief when Eva-01 was thrust into the evening air, its ascent halted once it was at ground level.

Almost, because it was there that Hinata found himself face-to-face with the Angel.


	2. Unfamiliar Ceilings

_"Hajime-kun," Naegi's voice said through the intercom. "Are you ready for this?"_

_"Yeah..." Hinata replied, though he was uncertain. There was something throbbing through the controls beneath his fingers. He wondered if that was an engine of some kind, that was powering this robot. He shakily tightened his grip on the handles, taking a deep breath that was proven redundant by the existing LCL in his lungs._

_"Okay, remove the final safety lock," he heard Naegi say, and there was a murmur of activity that he couldn't quite hear. "Evangelion Unit-01, lift off!"_

_With a strained creaking noise, the final bolts holding Eva-01 to the launch rail were removed, and the robot leaned forwards, shifting to balance its own weight. Hinata could feel the raw power behind the long, sinuous limbs that rocked into place at its sides; he could literally feel them as though they were his own. A shiver went down his spine. To be in control of such power..._

_"Hinata-kun. Focus on walking for now," Kirigiri said, breaking into his train of thought. "Don't worry about anything else. Just try to walk."_

_Walking. That was probably doable, Hinata thought, though he had no idea which controls he was meant to use. Experimentally, he pushed one of the handles forwards, at the same time willing with all his might for the Eva to walk. Somehow, miraculously, it did; the great creature's armoured leg swung forwards, shifting its weight as it did, and the foot lifted off the ground, taking a single step before crashing back down to the ground._

_"It walked..." came Kirigiri's incredulous tone, and Hinata frowned - why did she sound so amazed when before she had made it sound so simple? Was she expecting him to go wrong at some point, or to not even be able to take a step forwards? These thoughts flooded his mind, plaguing his focus, and even as he pulled the handles back to take a second step, Eva-01 stumbled, its legs collapsing from below it and sending both it and Hinata crumpling to the floor._

_"Hajime-kun!" He heard Naegi's frantic voice shouting. "Stand up again! Quickly!"_

_The panic in his voice was infectious, and Hinata felt like he would be hyperventilating if he was ventilating at all, but no matter how much his chest heaved, the LCL was solid and heavy in his lungs, which only seemed to make things worse. He glanced up at where the Angel was stood, only it was no longer stood there; it was moving towards him and reaching down to him. An involuntary choking noise clawed its way out of his throat as the Angel's hand clamped down on the Eva's headpiece, and then its other hand grabbed Eva-01's arm and began to pull and stretch it, and in the entry plug, Hinata's own arm felt like it was stretching, the muscles straining and tearing and ripping as they attempted to hold his flesh and bone in place. The pain was tremendous, like white-hot lightning coursing through every single nerve in his body, and the noise that had choked back before let itself loose in a scream of pure terror._

_"Hajime-kun, that's not your arm!" Naegi was shouting, but the words took more than a few seconds to penetrate the fog of pain that had clouded Hinata's brain. "You're sychronised with Eva but that isn't your arm being hurt!"_

_"Maizono-san! Why isn't the protection system working?" Kirigiri asked, leaning over the desk of the Command centre to get a closer look at the monitors._

_"The signal isn't going through," the blue-haired girl replied, her hands trembling on the keyboard._

_"Eva's AT-Field isn't materialising," added the overweight man who sat in the middle of the desk. He looked to Kirigiri for guidance, but the expression of confusion and worry on her face stopped him from saying anything more._

_The Angel's grip on Eva-01's arm tightened, pulling harder and harder until armour plating and bone alike were crushed beneath its hand, twisting the flesh until red blood ran freely from the ruined limb. Hinata hugged his own arm to his chest, trying desperately to think through the pain, but it was no use; he was terrified, and there was nothing logical left in his mind beyond an intense need to escape. The fact that the 'robot' was bleeding didn't even register with him. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get out right this second._

_"The left arm is damaged," Maizono reported to Kirigiri, using the tip of a pencil to indicate which areas on her monitor she was reading from. "All the circuits have been snapped. It's no use!"_

_"Hajime-kun," Naegi shouted, "Dodge it!"_

_The sound of metal on metal made Hinata's stomach lurch as he remembered what he'd seen during Eva-00's fight with this Angel; the same way it had held the Eva by the head, the same noise causing so much panic, and he remembered Kamukura's bandaged eye, a thousand terrible images flashing through his mind of what damage might be done to him in the next moment, and then the Angel's spear crashed into the front of Eva-01's faceplate, a burst of static interrupting the clean image Hinata could have seen before and replacing it with one obscured by a spiderweb of cracks. He cried out as simultaneously pain burst forth from around his eye, and he clutched his right hand, the one that he could still feel and use and that the Angel hadn't broken already, to his face as though he could hold the eyeball in place that way. A second crash spread the spiderwebs further, burning through Hinata's head and directly into his brain, making him scream uncontrollably, and the third was strong enough to propel the Eva backwards, sending it flying across the city streets until it hit a building, its broken arm flying to one side as it finally came to rest._

_"The head has been damaged," came the report from the Command centre, "Unable to indentify the full extent of the damage!"_

_"The control nerves are un-syching, Kirigiri-san," Maizono added. Kirigiri frowned, trying to think of the best course of action, and turned to speak to Naegi, but before either of them could say a word, the Angel continued its attack. With a spark of light and a low thrumming, the red orb held at the Angel's solar plexus lit up, energy coursing from it, and it shot a huge beam straight ahead, right towards Eva-01. As the beam hit, it spread outwards, forming a huge cross shape along the city streets._

_Hinata screamed. The LCL around him was boiling, scalding his skin and his mind and his soul, and there was no escape from this pod of death. His arm was numb at his side, his vision blurred, his lungs screaming for respite, every inch of him pain and terror and horrible, horrible anger that this should be the fate he was resigned to. The beam stayed on him for three, four, five long seconds before the Angel stopped, and Eva-01 slumped over, completely unmoving._

_"There's no response from the pilot," Yamada shouted, desperately slamming his fingers against the life support controls._  

_"Hajime-kun!" Naegi called desperately, and_

Hinata woke up. The world around him was white, clean and sterile and clinical, and lit artificially by the white lamps he was staring up at.

"This ceiling..." he said to himself, testing his voice to prove that he was still alive, "is unfamiliar..."

* * *

  
"Hinata-kun woke up," Kirigiri said, hanging up her phone as she turned to Naegi. "No external wounds, though he's a little confused."

Naegi leapt on the information immediately, his body abuzz with worry and curiosity. "It's not mental contamination, right? He's okay?"

"Yes, Naegi-kun. He's fine." Kirigiri looked up at the crane that was moving above them, replacing a broken gun turret in the ruined portion of city. "Which is more than can be said for Eva-01."

"The damage was that bad?"

"Well, it's built to withstand more than this city is, so it came off better than Tokyo-3," Kirigiri said. "But the left arm is currently being repaired, and we'll have to replace the entire headpiece... It's going to cost a lot. The Commander isn't happy."

"Ah, but we defeated the Angel, so that should dampen the blow," Naegi replied. "I guess I should go and collect Hajime-kun."

He and Kirigiri smiled at each other before parting ways. Naegi's journey took him down the car-train rail from the surface to the Geo-front, and then through the maze of NERV HQ before he emerged in the hospital, already prepared to hunt down Hinata's room. However, there was no need. Hinata was already sat in the waiting area, his left arm held out in front of him as he stared at it, lost in thought. Frowning in concern, Naegi moved towards him and cleared his throat so as not to startle him.

Hinata flinched slightly regardless, and hurridly dropped his arm as he looked up. "Naegi... What are you doing here?"

"I came to collect you, of course," Naegi said, smiling. His false optimism quickly dropped off his face, however. "Is your arm okay...?"

"Oh..." Hinata looked down at his arm again, and then hesitated, trying to think of how to address his concerns. Eventually he settled for, "I saw Kamukura again."

Naegi raised his eyebrows. "Oh?"

"He looks really badly hurt. I thought he was hurt from piloting Eva, but I was really hurting last night, and today there's no proof of it..." Hinata closed his hand, forming a fist. "I'm not hurt at all..."

Naegi hummed thoughtfully. "Well, Izuru-kun was injured before he piloted. I don't think piloting in that state really helped his injuries, but they weren't caused by it."

Hinata opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped himself. He opened his fist again and looked at his palm.

"Are you regretting piloting Eva?" Naegi said to fill the silence, trying to guess where Hinata's thoughts were heading. To his surprise, Hinata chuckled.

"No, that's the thing. It felt really, really good." Hinata lifted his head and let Naegi see his face clearly for the first time; his eyes were bright and shining as he beamed whole-heartedly. "Piloting Eva was incredible! I knew NERV was doing great things to save humanity, but I never imagined it would be something as incredible as that...!"

Naegi smiled softly. "I'm glad. For a moment there, I was worried you wouldn't want to pilot Eva again."

"Are you kidding? I'd do it in a heartbeat," Hinata replied. "I thought that maybe I shouldn't be feeling this happy when Kamukura was so injured by piloting, but if-- wait, so how was he injured, then?" His face fell, realising the question that had gone unanswered.

Naegi paused. "Well, I wasn't there, so I can't say for sure, but there were a few problems with Eva-00's activation... It was a while ago, though, and I'm sure Izuru-kun's nearly healed already. Anyway, Hajime-kun, I'm here for you. Your lodgings were decided." Naegi reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card with a printed address on it. "It's in block six... Those are one-person apartments."

"Oh," Hinata said in a tone that was far less enthusiastic than he'd intended.

"Are you okay living alone?" 

"Well, I've never really been alone like that..."

"You lived with your father before, right?"

"Yeah," Hinata replied with a small smile.

"In that case..." Naegi held up a single finger. "Why don't you live with me?"

Hinata blinked in surprise, turning to meet Naegi's eye. "W-wait, what? Really?"

"I don't like living alone either, and my apartment has plenty of room, so why not?" Naegi grinned. "It wouldn't be weird, right?"

"N-no, of course not," Hinata spluttered, cursing his own stutter. "But are you sure...? I mean, won't I be in the way or something?"

"Of course not! Hey, why don't you go on ahead and I'll go and talk to the higher-ups and make sure it's alright. The elevator's just over there," Naegi said, pointing to one end of the waiting room, "and I'm parked on floor 41."

"Right."

They parted ways, Hinata smiling mindlessly all the while. It wasn't until the younger boy was gone that Naegi allowed a frown to adorn his face. Something about Hinata enjoying what was, in his mind at least, a terrifying experience... It put Naegi on edge. He tried to dismiss it for now, but he made a mental note to talk to Kirigiri about it.

* * *

  
"The second coming of Angels." The Director's gravelly voice resounded throughout the chamber. What little could be seen of him under the glaring white light that surrounded his form was wrinkled skin and grey hair. "Surely, this is too abrupt."

"There is never any warning for such disasters," said the figure obscured by yellow. "Just as there was nor warning fifteen years ago."

The member bathed in red cleared his throat. "It may be fortunate for us... considering that our prior investment came to nothing in the end."

"We can't say that yet," the blue-lit man replied. "Our work is not wasted yet."

"I agree," said Yellow. "As for the measures we prepared for the coming of Angels, and the information we have access to, NERV must be the ones who take control."

"We're already prepared to do so," said Commander Jin Kirigiri.

The man under the green light tapped his knuckles on the desk to turn attention to himself. "Kirigiri-kun... Surely you have better ways of using NERV and Eva?"

"The costs of repairs on Eva-00 and Eva-01, which were both damaged in the first battle, will be the ruin of this country," Yellow chimed in.

"And to think you gave that toy to a mere child... One who did naught but ask, and you obeyed!" said Red in an incredulous tone.

"Time, money and manhours... How much more will be spent on the whims of children?" Blue scoffed. The Commander rolled his eyes, but tried not to let any more emotion show on his face, lest the Board of Directors leapt upon it.

"And besides, you have another job to do, don't you, Kirigiri-kun?" Red's voice said knowingly. Commander Kirigiri nodded, resting his fingertips on the folder that was already laid on top of his desk. The black words on white glared up at him. "The Human Instrumentality Project should be your top priority."

"That's right," Yellow wheezed. "That project is the only hope for those of us in such hopeless circumstances!"

The Director spoke next. "Even as the Angels come, the project cannot be allowed to fall behind schedule. We'll consider the budget contraints... As long as we agree with them, the results should be in your favour."

"Well, the Board will be in charge of that decision, either way," Blue said, making a coughing sound almost like a laugh.

"Thank you for your time, Kirigiri-kun," said Yellow.

"Kirigiri... You can't go back on this now, you understand." The Director's tone was firm, malice hidden behind its rough depths.

"I understand," said Commander Kirigiri. "There is only so much time, after all."

With a nod, the Director faded from view, along with each of the Board members in turn, until the Commander was alone. As he disengaged his own holographic light and re-emerged from the illusion at the desk in his office, he looked up at Matsuda, who was lounging against his desk, and slid the folder in his direction.

"Those old men really are full of hot air, aren't they?" Matsuda said, turning to the first page of the folder.

Kirigiri said nothing, but silently agreed.

* * *

  
"Ah, it looks like your things already arrived!" Naegi said chirpily, noticing the boxes stacked by the door as he fished in his pocket for the keys to his apartment. Hinata nodded uneasily, shifting the convenience store bags in his arms. "We'll bring them in after we've eaten. Ah, there we go..."

Fidgeting with the keys around the two carrier bags he was also carrying, Naegi slotted his keys into the door, sliding it open and standing to one side to let Hinata past.

"Oh, um," Hinata stuttered, taking a tentative step forwards. "Uh, thank you for having me..."

"Hajime-kun!" Naegi said quickly in an almost-offended tone. "This is where you're living too now, so you should say it properly!"

Hinata swallowed nervously, and then faltered for a second, moving the syllables around on his tongue. They tasted foreign and uneasy. "I... I'm home..."

"Welcome home!"

Hinata's uneasiness didn't fade throughout the evening. After a haphazard meal of instant food, he and Naegi worked together to move Hinata's belongings into the room that would now be his own. By the time they were finished, the sun had long set and Hinata was exhausted. Laid alone in this strange, darkened room, listening to the sounds of the city outside his window, his mind felt numb.

"This ceiling," he said quietly, though his voice was still loud enough in the almost-silence to make him self-conscious, "is also unfamiliar..."

His wandering thoughts went through all the people he had met the previous day, regarding each of them individually. They lingered on the memory of Kamukura's face, and then to Kamukura's battle in Eva-00, the Angel's brutal attack, and finally to his own experiences in Eva-01.

The way that battle had ended.

_Red blood spurted from Eva-01's head, painting the streets scarlet. The Command centre was wild with activity._

_"The synchrograph is reversing," Maizono called, "The pulses are flowing backwards!"_

_"Cut the circuits. Stop them," Kirigiri replied, her cool demeanour punctured by worry._

_"I can't, the signal's being refused!"_

_"There's no responses from the monitoring system either," Yamada added. "Unable to confirm if the pilot is alive or dead."_

_Kuwata slammed his fists against the keyboard in frustration. "Eva-01 is completely silent."_

_"Stop the operation," Naegi said quietly, but his words held so much power in this room that they were unquestionably heard. "The pilot's safety is of the highest priority. Forcefully eject the entry plug!"_

_"All signals are being refused, Naegi-kun," Maizono repeated, biting her lip. "The plug can't be ejected!"_

_"Damn it..." Naegi wove the fingers of one hand into his hair, trying to hide exactly how scared he was of this unfamiliar situation. "Kirigiri-san, is there any way to--"_

_Kuwata cut him off. "Hey, Eva-01 has reactivated!"_

_"What?!"_

_"It's moving!"_

_Eva-01's eyes lit up from the darkness that had previously overtaken them, and it slowly lifted its damaged head, its neck creaking from the effort. With a smoothness that couldn't possibly have come from the controls of an inexperienced pilot, it lifted itself upwards, bending its legs beneath itself to move upright once more. The Eva's entire body shuddered with effort, and then the headpiece snapped open, the restraints that had held Eva's jaws closed now hopelessly ruined, and as its white teeth were revealed, Eva-01 roared._

_"It's... out of control..." Naegi whispered. Kirigiri glared up at the display, unable to hide her fear and hatred._

_"Eva-01 has gone berserk," she said quietly, and ended it at that._

_As the great beast roared, Matsuda sat down on the edge of the Commander's desk and crossed his legs. "Well, we've won, then. The old men should be happy."_

_"When are they ever," the Commander replied, not taking his eyes off the display screen._

_Rolling its shoulders like an animal, Eva-01 began its attack. It charged at the Angel, swinging its unbroken arm in a measured curve and punching the Angel square in the face. The second swing was blocked, a hexagon of light blocking its path as the Angel's AT-Field activated. Eva-01 roared once more, holding up its broken left arm, and with a series of horrific clicks and cracks, straightened out the bends, repairing the damage immediately. Now unhindered, it purposely grabbed at the Angel's AT-Field, forcing its fingers directly through the barrier._

_"It's eroding the Angel's Field with its own," Maizono said shakily, trying to decipher the readouts that her computer was giving her. "By neutralising the phase space..."_

_There was a terrible ripping sound as Eva-01 rended the Field into two, dissolving it and immediately launching itself at the Angel, sending them both sprawling to the ground. While its opponent was stunned, Eva-01 began to punch at the Angel's core with both fists, pounding the crystalline red surface over and over, before grabbing the rib-like formations that surrounded the core and pulling them apart, tearing at the Angel's body until bone broke, and then taking that bone and using it as a hammer to crash against the orb until its surface began to shatter and crack. Before it could be destroyed completely, however, the Angel struck with its last resort; curling its limbs upwards, it clamped over Eva-01's entire top half and self-destructed._

_The explosion was huge, burning upwards with green light that became the shape of a cross as it towered in the sky above Tokyo-3, and cracking walls and windows of the buildings surrounding the battlescene. As the flames and smoke dissipated, the Command centre collectively stared at the display screen, waiting for signs of movement._

_Kuwata spotted it first. "That's--"_

_Eva-01 walked towards the display, barely a scratch upon its surface. With its cracked helmet and bared teeth, it was the picture of fury._

_Kirigiri inhaled sharply. "That is Eva's...."_

_"True form," Naegi finished for her, his eyes wide with disbelief. His stupor was broken as the three computers in front of him re-activated, their connection with Eva-01 restored, and a flood of information came flowing in._

_"The circuits are reconnected," Kuwata reported._

_"The whole system's recovered," Maizono confirmed. "The graph is in the normal position."_

_Yamada sat up sharply. "The entry plug is being monitored again! The pilot is alive, survival confirmed!"_

_"Quickly, get the Pilot Recovery Team down there!" Kirigiri ordered sharply. Naegi hummed in agreement, wiping sweat from his brow._

_"The pilot's safety is the highest priority."_

_In the entry plug, his hands shaking slightly from the sensation of being synchronised with Eva, Hinata exhaled slowly. He didn't feel like anything that had happened just now had been in his control, but at the same time, the opponent had been defeated, so his attempts had been successful, right? He let the tiniest of smiles creep onto his face. He had been successful... Even thinking those words felt incredible to him. He looked out of the plug, still seeing through Eva's eyes thanks to their synchronisation. In the cracked windows that surrounded him, he could see the reflection of Eva-01's green and purple body, smoking slightly with residue from the explosion, but still powerful and formidable. And he was the pilot, who had been able to do all this._

_With a cracking noise, Eva-01's helmet finally broke apart and fell to the ground, and Hinata found himself staring unobscured into the eyes of Evangelion Unit-01._

Hinata curled sideways on the bed. He couldn't recall what he'd felt at that moment - whether he'd been scared, or screamed, or cried - but when Naegi had asked him at the hospital, he had tried to instead focus on that victorious feeling he had experienced in the seconds before that. Thinking about it now... A chill went down his spine. He had thought of Evangelions as robots. He had considered himself completely in control of it. But seeing Eva's face uncovered, and knowing what it was capable of, whether he was in control or not, Hinata knew that he shouldn't underestimate Eva.

"It doesn't matter," he whispered to himself, barely loud enough to hear. "You're a part of NERV now. You can help save the world..."

There was no reply but silence, and the stilted warmth of eternal summer.

* * *

  
The room they stood in was ruined almost beyond recognition, the floor littered with broken glass and smashed machinery. Through the hole that was once a window, the open testing floor was dented and smashed, with misshapen panels falling from the walls.

Commander Kirigiri stood at his daughter's side. 

"How was Kamukura-kun?" Kyouko said quietly. "Did you go to the hospital this afternoon?"

"He will be back to full health within 20 days. That's when the commitee have scheduled the third activation test," Jin replied. He didn't look at Kyouko as he spoke. She noticed this, as she always did.

"The second was a success, at least. It really is a pain to put children under this burden."

"There are no other people in this world who can pilot Eva," Jin said softly. "As long as Eva are needed, it must be the children who pilot them."

Kyouko said nothing, and eventually Jin turned to leave without so much as a goodbye, leaving her alone in the dark, ruined room. She exhaled lightly.

"Such a burden..."


	3. The Phone that Never Rings

"But don't you think it's weird?" Naegi said dramatically, sitting backwards on his chair in the Command centre. "I mean, even watching that battle made me scared. I don't understand how he can be so enthusiastic about it...!

"It's not that strange," Kirigiri replied, though her attention was instead on the screens in front of her. "Lots of children would find it exciting. The Second does, after all."

"The Second..." Naegi repeated. "Does that mean you've been in touch with Togami-kun!?"

"Don't get your hopes up. It was just a cursory 'everything is on schedule' call."

"Why would I get my hopes up about that guy?" Naegi scoffed. "How's Hajime-kun doing, anyway?"

Kirigiri tapped a button and switched the overhead display to Hinata's training simulation. Over and over again, an image of Eva-01 pointed its rifle at a virtual Angel and fired a burst of ammo into its core. "He's consistent. 78% of shots on target. That's a 45% improvement from last week."

"Improvement in piloting, but not really in much else..."

"What do you mean by that?" Kirigiri said, tucking a hair behind her ear.

Naegi leaned back in his chair. "Well, I don't think Hajime-kun's doing so well at socialising. He has a phone, but no one from school ever rings him. Well, not that his father rings either..."

"Perhaps he has friends that you simply don't know about. Not many are willing to disclose all details of their lives to a relative stranger."

Naegi sniffed, insulted, and then gestured towards the simulated image of Eva-01. "Let me talk to him."

Kirigiri nodded and tapped a second button, and a small display opened, overlaying the larger image, that showed Hinata's determined smile from within the Entry Plug.

"Hajime-kun, how do you feel? Do you think you've got everything memorised?" Naegi asked, scooting his chair closer to the microphone.

"Yeah, I think so," came Hinata's reply, though he was too distracted with firing the rifle to keep his eyes on the display. "I mean, once you get the hang of it, it's easy, right?"

"I'm sure it is," Naegi said with a small smile. "It's been an hour already, do you want to call it quits for now?"

"Sure, I guess."

Naegi waited until the displays had both been disengaged before sighing. Hinata's reluctance had been evident in that last sentence; he definitely wanted to keep piloting the Eva for as long as possible. Naegi simply couldn't understand it. If he'd been in the same position, he didn't know if he'd even be able to look at Eva without wanting to run away.

"Hinata-kun has school tomorrow, right?" Kirigiri said, sensing Naegi's need for distraction. "You're on night duty, so don't forget he still needs to sleep."

"Ah, you're slipping into doctor mode," Naegi teased, but he nodded anyway. "I'll leave the rest to you then."

* * *

 

It was with great relief that Hinata slipped into his seat in the classroom. He'd woken up late that morning, since Naegi had slept in following night duty and failed to wake him up, and had scrambled to get ready while also remembering to make his guardian some breakfast and taking the burnable trash out. After that, the run to get to school on time had exhausted him.

He was still largely unfamiliar with his classmates, having only attended for a few days beforehand, and many of them being placed aside for Eva training. With a wary eye, he cast about the room, testing himself and placing names to faces.

"Hey, Oogamicchi," came a voice from behind him, and Hinata turned as subtly as he could to watch the class representative, a tall boy whose name he had forgotten but whose oversized hairstyle he could recognise from a mile off, approach one of the few people whose name he could remember instantly, a powerful-looking white-haired girl called Sakura Oogami. She turned to regard the class rep with a haughty stare. "You took that handout to Asahinacchi's place, right?"

"I did. However, Asahina was not present," Oogami replied seriously.

"Ehh? That's kinda worrying, right?" the class rep said with a frown. "You're kinda close to her, right?"

Oogami broke eye contact briefly, drawing in a long, steady breath, before replying. "It is possible that she has been injured."

The class rep threw up both arms as if he'd been scalded. "E-e-eh?! You mean in that robot thing, right? The TV said no one was hurt, but I knew it was a lie! The crystal ball said so!"

Hinata shifted uncomfortably in his seat. There was a growing sense of guilt building in his chest; most of it because he was responsible for anything caused by Eva, but a large chunk because he had never before considered the ramifications of his actions. Of course people would have been injured after that event... There had been huge explosions, and destroyed buildings. But Hinata had never thought of it. He had been so happy about piloting Eva that nothing else had made itself known. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he tuned back in to the conversation he was eavesdropping on, but before another word could be said, the classroom door opened, revealing a short brown-haired girl with a sullen expression.

"Hey, Asahinacchi!" the class rep shouted, abandoning the sentence he was halfway through.

"Asahina," Oogami parroted, getting up out of her seat to greet her friend, whose expression didn't change.

Asahina looked around the room, her eyes lingering on every student who was there. Hinata inadvertantly followed her gaze, and did a double take. He hadn't noticed at all that Kamukura was in the room. He was sat by the window, his arm and eye still bandaged, a book with an English title face-down on his desk and his chin propped up on his good arm as he stared out of the window. Hinata was struck for a moment, wondering in a million different ways how he could possibly try to talk to his fellow pilot, and it took Asahina's despondant voice to drag him away from staring at the black-haired boy.

"There's so few people... How many have moved away since then...?"

"It is not surprising," Oogami said, putting a hand on Asahina's shoulder. "Many have evacuated for safety. Asahina, how are you?"

Asahina's lip wobbled dangerously, and she stubbornly wiped a tear from her eye that had threatened to spill over. "My little brother... He got buried under some rubble. He's alive, he's probably going to be okay, but... He's in the hospital now, and my parents are always so busy, I didn't want him to be alone!"

"Hey, that's fine, right?" the class rep chimed in. "Family comes first an' all that."

"It's ridiculous, what happened with that robot!" Asahina declared angrily, going so far as to stamp her foot on the ground. "All this damage... What was the pilot thinking?!"

Hinata tried to swallow around the lump in his throat, but it couldn't seem to budge. All he could do was duck his head and try not to catch anyone's attention as a few of his fellow classmates moved to comfort Asahina, and then the teacher arrived and the feeling forgotten as he tried to focus on the lesson at hand, taking notes on his laptop. The few lessons he'd attended so far all seemed to be the same, always on the topic of Second Impact and its effects on the world's weather, economy, politics, magnetic poles...

A message flashed up on Hinata's laptop screen, distracting him from the teacher's steady drone.

> [IS IT TRUE YOU'RE THE PILOT OF THAT ROBOT? Y/N]

Hinata glanced around, wondering who had sent that message. As his eyes crossed them, a couple of girls at the back of the room quickly looked away from him. He turned back to the laptop, gritted his teeth and sent back a single [Y].

Immediately, the room was in chaos as nearly every student crowded around him, asking questions at top speed - "Is it true? Is it really true?" "Hey, how were you selected? Was it like an exam or something?" "What does it look like inside?" "Was it scary?!" - and Hinata was backed into a corner of his own creation, trying to think of ways to answer every single inquiry.

"What's the robot's name?" asked one of the girls whose eyes he'd caught.

"It's, uh... Evangelion Unit-01. But we call it Eva-01 as well..."

"What kind of weapons does it have? I saw massive bullet casings, the gun must be huge, right?" a boy said, throwing an arm over Hinata's shoulder.

"R-right... Yeah, we use rifles... and also the Prog-knife. It uses, um, sonic waves or something..."

"Ehh, that sounds incredible! Hey, I can't believe the pilot is in our school!"

As the bell rang for the end of class, everyone seemed reluctant to leave Hinata alone until the class rep stepped in, calling for them to give him some space. The crowd dispersed, and Hinata noticed the three people who hadn't left their seats during the whole thing; Kamukura, whose gaze was fixed out of the window, and Asahina and Oogami, both of whom were shooting piercing glares in his direction.

They caught him during the break. Asahina asked him to talk in private, and the look on Oogami's face made it impossible for him to decline. As a trio they walked to the yard alongside the school building, and there Oogami stepped forwards and without hesitation punched Hinata in the face, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"My apologies, Hinata. But this is in exchange for the harm you brought upon Asahina's brother," Oogami said in her usual measured tone. "That is all."

Asahina herself didn't say a word, but merely glared daggers at Hinata until she and Oogami both turned to leave.

"I didn't know people would get hurt," Hinata muttered, more to himself than to the girls, but Asahina turned back anway, drew her leg back and kicked him hard in the side, leaving him gasping for breath. Then they left him, laid in the dirt, a bruise forming on his cheek. He rolled onto his back, staring up at the sky.

People had gotten hurt, because of him. His actions had injured... maybe even killed people. And he hadn't even considered it, because he had thought nothing of the damage he had done while piloting Eva. The feeling that was strangling his heart... It was definitely guilt. Maybe piloting Eva wasn't as fun as he'd first thought. It was scary, yes, he knew that. It was definitely dangerous, and painful - he could still recall the burning white numbness that had scoured through his eye socket at the hands of the third Angel. But he'd enjoyed it nonetheless. Until he was now being made to realise the consequences of his actions. Hinata sucked in a painful breath.

A shadow blocked out the sun above him, and he tilted his head to see what it was, and then nearly jolted out of his skin as he recognised Kamukura, stood over him and staring down expressionlessly.  
"There was an emergency call. I'll go ahead," he said, and then turned away.

Hinata lay in the dirt for a solid thirty seconds more before sitting up with a wince and following.

* * *

"We have visual confirmation of the target. It's moving in to territorial waters."

"All hands to battle stations," Matsuda called, leaning against Commander Kirigiri's empty desk.

"Prepare for anti-aircraft interception," Maizono said, her brow furrowed as she typed rapidly.

"Tokyo-3 is transforming to battle formation. Lowering to Geo-front level now."

"House the central block first. Then districts 1 to 7 in numerical order."

"Sir," Yamada called, turning to face Matsuda - who, while Naegi had not yet arrived, was in charge of the operation. "The government and all ministries concerned have been notified."

Matsuda nodded his approval, just as Naegi himself finally arrived, panting for breath and still pulling his jacket on.

"What's the status of non-combatants and civilians?" he asked, leaning on the back of Kuwata's chair. Kuwata tapped a button on his keyboard.

"Evacuation is complete. All civilians are in shelters."

The visual feed was finally patched through to the main screen, and the fourth Angel could be seen clearly. Its body was dark grey, with lighter stripes nearer the bottom half, and almost tubular. Beneath its gargantuan head was the core, surrounded by jittering skeletal legs, and from its two 'arms' dangled long whip-like tentacles, glowing faintly with a pale red light and with edges as sharp as a katana. It moved quickly through the sky, covering vast stretches of land, and the NERV aircraft that were trying to intercept it were doing nothing to slow it down.

Naegi scowled. "Of course it would come while the Commander is absent... They don't give us any break at all, do they."

"Fifteen years between the second and third, and this one shows up after only three weeks," Yamada added ruefully. Naegi grimaced.

"They never think about our circumstances. Well, we'd better take care of it."

From the Commander's desk, Matsuda watched disinterestedly. As long as someone else was here to take over, he didn't have to do anything, so he simply leaned back and relaxed, crossing his legs nonchalantly. On the screen, more aircraft emptied their guns ineffectively against the Angel's solid exterior. "What a waste of taxpayer's money..."

"Naegi, the commitee is demanding we mobilise an Evangelion unit," Kuwata called over his shoulder, a phone receiver in his hand.

"Geez, they would demand it, wouldn't they?" Naegi frowned. Something didn't sit right, but he didn't know what it was, and with neither Kirigiri present, he didn't want to voice his concerns. Instead, he fortified the confident persona he was putting on. "Even if they didn't ask for it, we'd definitely send out an Eva."

* * *

 

"Entry Plug in position. Beginning LCL injection..."

Hinata breathed in the orange liquid more easily than he had during his first sortie, but the guilt that had been gnawing at his heart didn't let him feel excited about the battle that was to come. All he could think about was the fact that his actions had caused trouble and strife for so many...

"Hajime-kun, are you ready?" Naegi's voice broke into his thoughts, jolting them off track. Hinata verbally stumbled for a second.

"O-oh... yeah, I'm ready."

"Okay! Evangelion Unit-01, launch!"

Through Eva's eyes, Hinata watched as he and Eva-01 were launched upwards through the tunnel network on guide rails, chutes and doors opening up to make way for them, and then he was in sunlight, the bright midday shining down from above the Geo-front, and there was the Angel.

It had transitioned from its horizontal flying position to a vertical one, its tentacles hanging at its sides as its massive head bent forwards, staring at Eva-01 with beady eyes. There were a tense few seconds where neither party moved, and then the Angel lashed out, its eyes and core and tentacles all glowing the same bright red as those razor-sharp whips moved through the air fast enough to create a whooshing sound, aimed at Eva-01's head. Hinata pulled sharply on the controls, ducking beneath the blow, and then raised his rifle. He remembered the movements he'd spent hours trying to perfect in the training simulation - target in the center, pull the switch - and unleashed a burst of gunfire at the Angel's massive body.

"Hajime-kun, no!" Naegi cried through the comms. "The smoke is obscuring your view! Prepare your AT-Field!"

"Huh?" Hinata let go of the switch and realised that, yes, he could no longer see the Angel because of the smoke from his gunfire, and oh, that probably wasn't good. Before he could even make an action towards activating Eva-01's AT-Field, the Angel's tentacle shot out of the smoke, grabbing Eva-01's arm and slicing into the armor plating with its blade-like edge, almost lifting the entire unit off the ground and effortlessly throwing it aside. The Evangelion landed heavily a few hundred feet away, breaking through trees and rocks, and inside its plug, Hinata gasped in shock and pain, the feeling of deep, white-hot cuts running up his arm and the force of the impact bruising his side, where Asahina's foot had caught him earlier.

"Hajime-kun, I'm sending you a reserve rifle! Come on, take it, quickly!" Naegi shouted, and some way away, a white metal case slid up from the ground, its front falling open to reveal said rifle. But Hinata couldn't take it. His hands were shaking. Guilt and fear and pain were dancing around in his chest and he couldn't breathe. LCL was thick on his tongue and heavy in his throat and he couldn't breathe. "Hajime-kun? Hajime-kun, can you hear me?"

He really was a terrible pilot. He could barely manage it. The first Angel he'd fought, he'd failed terribly against until the Eva itself had taken over. He knew that. And yet it was him, the pilot, and not Eva-01, who was responsible for those dead and injured. And now, against a second angel, he'd made a stupid, basic mistake and paid the price. Was he really fit to pilot Eva?

The Angel moved again, coming directly for Eva-01. Its body hovered effortlessly, the bottom half of it fanning out like a skirt as its tentacular whips trailed behind it. Like a dancer twirling ribbons, the tentacles swiped forwards, once again aimed directly at Eva-01, and in that second Hinata moved instinctually, rolling aside to avoid being hurt. The bladed edges sliced through Eva-01's umbilical cable, and the lights inside the Entry Plug dimmed slightly as the battery power's priorities were changed to focus on operating the Eva itself. A digital countdown appeared on the wall of the plug beside him, ticking down from five minutes. Before he could make a second movement, the same tentacle wrapped around Eva-01's ankle and lifted it up again, and then he was flying through the air, nothing supporting him at all, and with a resounding crash, Eva-01's body collided with a hillside, almost completely destroying a temple that had been built there and falling motionless as the tremors from impact stopped.

Hinata opened his eyes, having braced for impact, and then spotted something that made his blood run cold.

Cowering beneath Eva-01's arched palm were Asahina and Oogami.

"Who are they? Hajime-kun's classmates?!" Naegi said in a panicked tone, turning between all three command operators. It was Yamada who pulled up their information on the screen.

"Aoi Asahina-dono and Sakura Oogami-dono. They should have been evacuated with everyone else--"

Yamada's voice was cut off as the Angel appeared again, flying towards Eva-01 at top speed, its tentacles extended and pointed directly at it. Both girls screamed out as Eva-01's hand moved, Hinata jerking the controls without second thought in his desperation, and grabbed hold of the whips, one in each hand, holding the Angel in place. Hinata's screams joined the cacophony, the blades slicing into his palms and sending crimson blood running down Eva-01's wrists, but he would not relent, would not let this creature harm anyone else, even if he had to take on all the pain himself.

"Three minutes and twenty-eight seconds of power remaining," Maizono said quietly. "Naegi-kun, what should we do?"

Naegi hesitated for a second, and then took hold of the microphone linked to the comms system, speaking in a hushed tone. "Hajime-kun, open the Entry Plug and let them into the cockpit. You can't fight with them nearby, so pick them up and retreat, understand?"

"That's not possible," Kirigiri's clear voice rang out behind Naegi as she entered the Command centre, her hands deep in the pockets of her lab coat. "Civilians cannot enter the Evangelion without permission."

"I'm giving permission now," Naegi said with a frown, his attention still on Hinata's situation.

"You're exceeding your authority, Captain Naegi."

"Three minutes of power remaining," Maizono cut in. Naegi ignored Kirigiri completely.

"Open the Entry Plug for them."

Maizono nodded and began tapping in commands. On the battlefield, as Eva-01 wrestled with the Angel's tentacles, the Entry Plug slid out, Eva's head falling forwards as a result, and a rope ladder unfurled itself from the underneath.

"You two!" Naegi's voice called out from a speaker. "Get in, quick!"

The pair scrambled into the Entry Plug, splashing into the LCL.

"... Water?" Oogami said curiously, submerging herself slowly. Asahina wrinkled her nose.

"It smells weird! What's this about--Ah!" she squeaked as the LCL was reinjected, filling the space that had been created and leaving the girls with no option but to inhale it. Hinata glanced over his shoulder.

"What are you - ghk - doing here?" he gasped through the pain of holding the Angel steady.

"It's my fault!" Asahina said wholeheartedly. "I felt really bad about this afternoon so we wanted to come and cheer you on..."

In the Command centre, Maizono turned in her chair. "There's some trouble with the synchronisation!"

"It's because there are foreign bodies in the Plug. Thought Noise is interrupting the nervous pulses," Kirigiri said matter-of-factly, staring at Naegi, who continued ignoring her.

"Okay, Eva-01, retreat," he said into the microphone. "The recovery route is on the east side of the mountain."

"Hinata, we must go," Oogami said in the Plug, but Hinata was frozen. The timer was ticking down, the blades of the Angel's whips digging deeper and deeper into Eva-01's palms, but he could not bring himself to run away.

"People might get hurt," he said quietly. Asahina bit her lip guiltily. She could tell that this was because of what she had said that afternoon. "If I let the Angel go, people will get hurt."

Hinata felt something jolt in his chest, breaking through the sensations of cutting in his hands. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of LCL, and then opened them again.

He moved.

With all of Eva-01's strength, he threw the Angel away from him for just long enough to raise Eva-01's hand to its shoulder pylon and eject the Progressive Knife, taking it in hand and hefting the hilt into a comfortable position, ignoring the slide of blood against its smooth handle. Then he hauled Eva-01 upright, getting to its feet and throwing his weight against the controls. Without realising it, he was yelling as he charged towards the Angel, ignoring Naegi's voice in his ear, ignoring the screams of his classmates - he knew nothing but the urgency of battle, the need to prevent any more harm. The Angel raised its tentacles and jerked them forwards, one forcing its way through Eva-01's stomach while the other cut into its shoulder, and Hinata gasped, the pain tunnelling through his entire being, but didn't stop his approach. He pushed the controls forwards again, forcing Eva-01 to walk, impaling himself further and further on the Angel's tentacles, until he was in arms reach. Eva-01 grabbed hold of the Angel's ever-moving bug-like legs, crunching them in its fist and dragging the Angel's body closer, and then Hinata drove the Prog-knife into the core, screaming all the while from fear and pain and desperation.

"Ten seconds of power remaining," came Maizono's shaking voice, barely audible above Hinata's cries, and then a countdown, agonisingly fast. "Five, four, three, two, one... Eva-01 has ceased actions."

Beneath his blade, the core split into two, and then burst, dissolving completely into blood-red liquid, and as Eva-01 fell silent, the Angel's body became disconnected from its weaponry, falling to the ground and sliding some ways down the hill, leaving nothing but two long, razor-sharp tentacles impaled through the body of Evangelion Unit-01.

* * *

"It's been three days already..." Asahina said quietly, watching the rain outside the classroom window.

"Since that incident?" Oogami asked calmly.

"Since Hinata stopped coming to school."

They both turned to look at Hinata's empty desk.

"You are worried?" Oogami said.

"Not really..."

In answer to that, Oogami slid a piece of paper across her desk, upon which was written a series of numbers. "You are worried."

Asahina dithered, trying to hide her feelings, but eventually smiled at Oogami, taking the piece of paper. "Thanks, Sakura-chan! I guess I should talk to him..."

She bounced out of the classroom and towards the payphones that were free for students to use, lifted the receiver and looked at the paper, her finger hovering over the first digit. But her heart was heavy. Unknown emotions were clouding her mind. After several seconds deliberation, she put the receiver back on the hook and stood, staring at the phone, wondering just why she was unable to do it.

* * *

The phone that sat on Hinata's desk continued to never ring.


	4. Rain, After the Escape

"Hajime-kun?" Naegi called lightly as he rapped his knuckles against the doorframe of Hinata's room. There was no reply. Naegi frowned slightly, biting the inside of his cheek. "Hajime-kun, it's been five days now. Do you want to go back to school?" Still no response. Naegi knocked a little harder, in case Hinata wasn't awake yet. "Eva-01 has completed repairs. You can pilot it again now..."

The silence after he stopped speaking stretched into infinity. Naegi felt his heart beating against his ribcage. He knew, somehow simply knew, that the room he was talking to was empty. Hesitantly, taking a deep breath to steel himself, Naegi slid the door open and faced his fears.

The only sign that Hajime Hinata had ever inhabited this room was his NERV ID card sat on the desk atop an envelope addressed to Naegi. His hands shaking involuntarily, Naegi picked the envelope up and turned it over in his hands, and then put it down again without opening it.

Outside, the cicadas warbled.

* * *

They had barely rung the doorbell before Naegi was ripping the door open so fast the hinges screamed in protest, and words were spilling out of his mouth before he'd even registered who was stood on the doorstep.

"Hajime-kun-- Oh." Naegi deflated slightly. "You two..."

Aoi Asahina and Sakura Oogami both bowed politely.

"We're sorry to bother you!" Asahina said quickly. "We were just wondering where Hinata is, since he's been absent from school!"

"Oh, you're not a bother," Naegi said. "You two, you're the girls who got into Eva-01's Entry Plug the other day. Asahina-san and Oogami-san, right?"

"We are very sorry for causing you such trouble," said Oogami in her steady tone. Naegi paused, trying to decide what he was going to say before he caused any unnecessary worry.

"It was no trouble at all," he said finally. "And Hajime-kun isn't here right now. He's... at the training center at NERV HQ."

Asahina reached into her bag, pulling out a wad of papers. "These are the printouts from this week... The class rep asked us to bring them for him."

Naegi took them with a smile. "I'll pass them on. Thank you for coming all this way for him. I'm sure he'd be happy that you came."

With another bow, the two girls took their leave, and Naegi closed the door slowly as they went, his chest almost vibrating with the force of his beating heart. It was taking all his restraint to prevent himself from lashing out at something, anything, in frustration.

"Hajime-kun... You idiot."

* * *

  
Hinata drifted aimlessly through the city.

He didn't want to think. He was tired of thinking. It had been barely any time since he'd arrived in Tokyo-3 and he already wanted to leave. Piloting Eva had been fun until he'd realised the effects it had on others. Now it just seemed scary. Not terrifying - just scary. A thing to be dreaded, rather than feared. He wondered why it had seemed so fun in the first place.

He spent nearly the entire day sat on the train. From the first trip in the morning, he'd ridden it back and forth until the last trip at night. The carriage had filled, then emptied, then filled again, and finally left him alone. His mind was numb. He stayed silent and motionless, physically and mentally, for hours. It wasn't until a tinny recorded voice proclaimed the train was now out of service that he whispered four words to himself as the most accurate insult he could think of.

The evening air was crisp and cool but Hinata hid from it in a cinema, paying a few hundred yen to slip into a shoddy B-movie that no one else would want to see. He barely listened to the words, certainly not taking them in, and the actors performances were so stilted and fake that after five minutes he watched the wall instead, staying there long after the credits had finished rolling.

He slept in the cinema lobby. No one bothered him but he kept waking anyway. Each time, he wondered where he was, and then remembered, and went back to sleep.

In the morning, while the sky was still tinged pink from the sunrise and the streets were empty but for the whirling of winds between the buildings, he caught a bus out of the city.

* * *

  
Kamukura lay on the examination table, staring unblinkingly at the cameras and sensors embedded in the white metal tunnel that surrounded him. He fought the urge to sigh. These examinations always took far too long, and were far too boring.

On the far side of the room, Kirigiri watched her computer screens as the sensor readings came in, while Naegi sat backwards in an office chair beside her.

"He's only young, and I get that," Naegi was saying, having already talked her ear off about his worries. "And I really do think it's harsh for the fate of humanity to be his burden..."

"But Eva must be piloted by fourteen year old children," Kirigiri said lightly, finishing his sentence. Naegi nodded and hummed his agreement. "Has he contacted you at all?"

Naegi opened his mouth, thinking of the letter Hinata had left, but said nothing. After all, the letter had thus far remained unopened. It might not even be anything important. Or it could be worse than Naegi was imagining. He simply hadn't been able to bring himself to open it yet. Kirigiri took his silence as an answer.

"What will you do if he doesn't come back?" she asked, more out of politeness than concern. In her mind, Hajime Hinata was a pilot and nothing more, and easily replaceable. But she knew Naegi had grown attached, being far more sentimental than she, and knew that he wouldn't approve of her voicing her mind at this time.

"I think..." Naegi began, leaning backwards slighting and looking up at the ceiling. "I think it might be for the best."

"Oh?"

Naegi frowned, remembering the conversation he had had with Hinata following the last Angel encounter.

_"I told you to retreat, Hajime-kun," Naegi said in the strictest tone of voice he could manage. It didn't sound genuine to his own ears, but he hoped he got his point across to Hinata._

_"Sorry," Hinata replied. He was hunched over on the bench, still in his Plug Suit, though he'd wrenched the interface headset out of his hair and thrown it down on the seat beside him._

_"When I told you that, it was not only for your own safety, but for the safety of your friends who were in the Plug with you. Do you understand the risks you put them through?"_

_"Yes. I'm sorry."_

_"Next time, when I give you an order, you have to follow it. Okay?"_

_"Yes."_

_Naegi frowned. "Are you listening to me, Hajime-kun?"_

_"Yes," Hinata replied. "It's fine, though, right? I stopped the Angel. No one else got hurt. So it's fine."_

_"_ You _got hurt, though," Naegi said in an exasperated tone. "Is that fine too? That you're the one who was hurt during that fight? You can't pilot with that attitude, Hajime-kun. If you think that way, then the next time you pilot Eva you could get killed!"_

_"That's fine. As long as no one else gets hurt." Hinata lifted his head and smiled at Naegi, though the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Anyway, I'm the only one who can do it, right?"_

Kirigiri took this in silently, and tapped a few keys at her computer, still reading Kamukura's examination results. Then she turned to Naegi.

"For Hajime to pilot Eva will bring him only pain. But if that's the path he has chosen, so be it."

Naegi frowned at her words, but nodded slightly. A feeling of unease wormed its way into his stomach and settled there as if for the long run.

Across the room, on the examination table, Kamukura grinned to himself. Maybe this Hajime Hinata wasn't as boring as he'd first suspected.

* * *

  
Later, when Naegi had left, Kirigiri escorted Kamukura back away from her office. They were joined by the Commander, though where he had appeared from was hard to say.

Kirigiri avoided her father's gaze as she glance at him. He regarded her in the same manner.

"The First Child is still missing," she said in a measured tone. "If he does not return, what should we do?"

Commander Kirigiri looked away from her, at Kamukura, who had his back to both of them; an impenetrable wall of black hair was the barrier between the adults and the child. "We reconfigure Eva-01 for Izuru. The next pilot can use Eva-00."

"Next pilot?" Kirigiri said, wondering if there was any deeper message behind those words. The Commander picked up on that.

"The Marduk report hasn't found a Fourth Child yet."

Kirigiri nodded. After all, pilots were hard to find. It was lucky that if one was to be lost, it would be the one who was easy to replace.

The three continued on in silence.

* * *

  
They came for him later that day.

Hinata had wandered around the countryside until the sun was high in the sky and the morning fog had dissipated, but he was still at a loss for what to do next. Would he go home to his father, and explain that he'd run away? Where else could he go?

The answer was, of course, that he'd be dragged back to NERV HQ by a group of men in black suits, their eyes hidden behind mirrored shades. The epiphany he'd been on the verge of had crumbled underfoot, but he made a point to gather up the broken pieces and begin reassembling them on the way back.

Almost two hours later, when Naegi opened the door of the prison cell, it was almost complete, but Hinata couldn't bring himself to put the last piece into place.

"Hajime-kun," Naegi said. Hinata didn't reply. "Did these last couple of days help at all? Have you decided what you want to do?"

Hinata swallowed the lump in his throat. "I... I'm not sure."

"Eva-01 is ready," Naegi said. "Will you pilot it or not?"

Hinata's hands trembled. "Aren't you even going to yell at me for running away? A-are you angry at all?!" The last piece was falling.

"If you don't pilot it, Izuru-kun can pilot it. You won't be needed."

It settled into place.

"I want to pilot Eva!" Hinata almost shouted. "I want to help people! I want to help save the world! I'm scared of Eva but I want to pilot it so that I can help!"

There was a pregnant pause, and then Naegi smiled.

"Good. That's all I needed to hear." He held out his hand. "Come on, Hajime-kun. Let's go home."

 


End file.
